


Unfamiliar Familiars

by AngelsGuts



Category: markiplier - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-26 18:38:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19774060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelsGuts/pseuds/AngelsGuts
Summary: This was just something silly I wrote. It doesn't really have anywhere to go but I really love that Aiko has more personality than me so HGUIFHGIUDFHSG





	Unfamiliar Familiars

“Alright, Aiko,” Yan hummed, slipping a note into a small tube attached to the sleek black cat’s faded pink collar, “we’ve trained for this!” She smiled confidently and hooked the latch. Aiko brushed her face against Ayano’s hand, a soft murr rumbling from the back of her throat. Her bright golden eyes closed as Ayano’s long red nails scratched against her chin. “Take this to Senpai, Ai. Go on~” Aiko murred again, trailing her body against Ayano’s hand before slinking off out the window.

The black cat hid in the shadows, walking through back alleys and weaving between trees. A familiar’s job was to help their owner, and that was what she planned to do. Her slim body slipped through the gates of Darkiplier’s Manor, easily finding her way to a windowsill. Soft paws batted against the glass as she began meowing loudly for attention. Her voice was known to be a bit shrill, having thoroughly practiced getting Yan’s attention when she so desired it. Even when the dark figure within approached the window, she didn’t stop. Rather, she meowed louder, and batted her paw more urgently. She stretched so that her chin was facing upwards, ears flicking as the sunlight caught the metal around her neck.

A moment’s curiosity flowed between the beings. They met eyes, divine with divine, and the window was opened.

“Is this for me?” Dark asked, a certain humor to his voice. It wasn’t often he got messages at all, especially from animals. Squirrels, perhaps, on occasion, but... 

His fingers gently worked with the contraption. Aiko purred, her tail swishing back and forth as she sat still. When he took the letter, she stood, stretched, yawned, and hopped off the windowsill. Dark stared at her, watching her go as he mindlessly unrolled the letter in his hands. His eyes slowly trailed to the words in front of him, taking in the cryptic message. It was written in Latin, fluent Latin at that. The letters were scrawled in golden ink, looping within each other fluidly. It sounded  _ almost  _ like nonsense - written completely in metaphor. Despite not  _ completely  _ understanding what the letter was trying to convey, it gave off an… Energy. It was faint, but positive. The longer he held it, the stronger the feeling coursed through his veins.

Dark turned the letter in his hands to find a small note, in English, in the bottom right corner.  _ Put this somewhere with direct light _ , it read,  _ preferably where the sun shines directly on it at 10 AM. _

“...Oddly specific…”

Had he just been… Cursed? Was this a curse? Was this…  _ Magic _ in his hands? He turned it back over, fingers brushing over the golden lettering.  _ How curious.... _

  
  


“What?! You didn’t stay long enough to see his reaction?! How will I know he’s using it?! What if he threw it away!?” Ayano paced in her room, hands in her hair in frustration. Aiko only mewed lazily, laying with her head against her paws as her tail flicked back and forth over the side of the bed.

Ayano sighed, stopping to regain herself. “Okay, well. I have another idea.”

  
  


“Again…?” Dark asked himself aloud as he heard an impatient mewing at his window. He opened it once more, smiling and laughing softly to himself. What was all of this about, anyway?

His eyes widened upon seeing not only the cat from the day before in front of him, but also the paper he had thrown out. He hadn’t had any use for it, and he wasn’t about to entertain such a silly little thing, but… It would seem this cat had other ideas. A soft sigh left his lips before he reached out to grab the paper. The cat batted his hand, myurring in annoyance. They locked eyes again, a message being conveyed between them in ways too difficult to explain.

“Right… I apologize.”

The cat’s tail flicked in annoyance, but she looked away, allowing him to take the letter from before and once again open the tube on her collar. This time, there was a little package that slid out, small enough to fit in his palm. It was wrapped in brown paper and tied with a coarse string. Dark looked at the cat curiously before unwrapping the small gift.

...Wondrous.

“I have no need for these things,” Dark muttered under his breath, turning the small, clear crystal between his fingers, “whoever is sending these is wasting their time and energy.”

The cat myurred again, tail now thumping lightly against the windowsill. This time, instead of bounding away, she slipped inside the house.

“Hey- Excuse me-” Dark turned to watch her slink into the shadows, “that is very much trespassing.”

A soft meow was heard somewhere in the distance. Dark sighed in annoyance, moving to put the “gifts” on a side table before going to look for this little ball of fury.

He got on his hands and knees, looking under dressers and hutches, behind bookshelves and around tables. “Where did you  _ go _ …?”

Defeated, he sat up on his haunches. For just a moment, he put his hand to his face, trying to recollect himself. “Cat. You need to get out of my-”

Aiko interrupted him with another meow, this time from above. She weaved between objects on the refrigerator, a taunting purr humming from her. Dark stood, making his way to meet with her and to grab her up. She slipped between his arms, darting up the stairs and hiding in yet another room. Dark groaned, creating a wormhole of sorts to make his way to one of the bedrooms. “Honestly, this is entirely rude. Your owner would be very disappointe-”

The sound of something crashing to the floor in the far bedroom once again interrupted him. He stepped through the void and into the room, anger beginning to bubble inside of him as the cat licked her paws next to a broken vase.

“You little shit-”

Aiko meowed at him, standing and moving to brush against his legs in a false apology.

“You aren’t fooling anyone,” he said, scooping her up into his arms and making his way downstairs to force her out of his house.

“If you come back…” He growled, moving to close the window. Aiko only meowed, yawning before heading off again.

  
  


“I cannot believe you!” Ayano cried, “you can’t just  _ do that  _ to Senpai! I want to give him  _ support  _ not become a nuisance!”

Aiko meowed, unimpressed.

“No, I don’t care! I could have just sent another one, and we wouldn’t have had to have  _ made a mess! _ ”

Aiko meowed again.

“Now I have to give him all my money  _ and  _ something else to help.” She groaned softly, rummaging through her supplies. “At least the crystal would have still helped if he had thrown it out. You could’ve put it in his garden or something! Or at the bottom of that pool he has, or the golf course!”

Ayano’s fingers tapped against one of her boxes - a box filled with the teeth of people that defied her Senpai. She wasn’t sure if he knew she had been doing this, but…

Her eyes scanned her many jars and boxes. Eyes, pieces of bone,  _ full _ bones, bone  _ powder _ , vials of blood on constant rotation, vials of blood where the blood had set and crystalized.

She snapped. It was perfect!

“Not you again-” Dark groaned. Angrily, he made his way to the window. “Go away. You’re nothing but a troublemaker.”

Aiko meowed.

“No. Last time I humored you, you broke a vase!”

She meowed again, pawing at the slightly-bigger tube around her neck.

Oh no. Not something  _ bigger. _

“I don’t want it. Take it back.”

Sharp claws scratched at the glass.

With a groan, Dark opened the window. “You better not come in my house,” he grumbled, fumbling with the tube to just  _ get it over with. _ He poured the contents into his hand, a couple of hundred dollar bills falling into his palm. His eyes widened, then furrowed in confusion. How did they know…? It wasn't like the cat could  _ tell  _ anyone it broke a vase. His eyes scanned the surrounding area, suspicious of more than just a cat being on the premises. After a few moments, the small package was opened. It… Looked like another crystal, almost, but this one was a brown-red color. It had a sort of white, powder-like flake pattern within it, and in the right light you could  _ almost  _ see through it. It felt like it was specially encased in a clear coating, like glass, perhaps. He’d never seen a crystal like it before, if that were indeed what it was.

“How curious…”

Aiko meowed, batting at the brown paper the crystal came in. Dark picked it up, recognizing the Latin in gold once more. He turned it over after skimming through it, this time finding that he should  _ burn  _ said paper. He gave the cat a look. The cat meowed back.

“...Okay…”

Aiko purred softly, standing to rub her tail against Dark’s hand before trotting off once more.

  
  


"Why am I even bothering?" Dark grumbled as he held the brown paper packaging over his sink. With a huff of annoyance (or perhaps embarrassment,) he struck a match and lit the paper. It burned brightly, the flames engulfing it completely in a matter of seconds. Really looking at the fire, it seemed to burn a specific gold, a white haze surrounding the edges before quickly vanishing. 

He hummed. "I suppose that's over now."

Now, his attention was taken to the crystal. It really didn't look like anything he'd ever seen before. He picked it up, holding it against the light. It cast an eerie reflection, a stripe of deep maroon sweeping across the counter and gently caressing his face. 

"Very odd…"

Something about it was… Charming. He felt drawn to it, like being without it was being without a part of himself. He set it down on the counter, shaking his head and straightening his tie. That was ridiculous. With a huff, he turned to leave the room, however… He paused before he could make it out the doorway. Quickly, as though perhaps if he did it swiftly, no one would witness, he retrieved the crystal and put it in his pocket.

  
  


"Do you think he liked it?" Ayano asked Aiko. Aiko mrrp't in response.

"I sure hope you're right… I also really hope he burned that paper! I mean, I doubt it, but… That crystal should give him a clear sense of power, determination, confidence, calm… A crystal made from the blood and bone of an enemy is one of the most powerful objects you can have! I mean, Senpai's already unstoppable, but… I dunno! Maybe he doubts it sometimes! So! It'll make him feel… Better… About himself…"

Aiko meowed.

"W-well-! I… I  _ did  _ want to- So! If he ever felt like he needed  _ more _ than power-"

Another meow.

"Oh please. Everyone needs to feel loved and supported sometimes! Especially when the most love you get is like… Idolization!"

_ Mrrp. _

  
  


At this point, Dark had begun to leave the window open for the cat's visits. It always came around the same time, anyway, so he figured he could perhaps save his poor glass window from further scratching and abuse.

As suspected, Aiko came once again around sundown. She meowed for Dark's attention, not daring to step foot within the manor itself.

Dark went to the window, quirking a brow at her. "You're not coming in?"

Aiko meowed.

"...Alright."

He once more retrieved his gift from the small tube, dumping it into his hand. A small smile spread across his features as another package fell into his hands. A certain energy radiated from it, even without opening it. It was a powerful energy, one that almost made Dark stagger. His eyes flashed to the cat, who just stared at him. With a moment's hesitation, he pulled the string, only to find another crystal similar to the one he had before, but without white flecks inside of it this time. 

It sat warmly in his hand, an overwhelming emotion overcoming him that he wasn't exactly sure how to process. He cautiously sat the crystal on the window sill.

"What did you give me?"

_ Mrow. _

He stared at it, being just as drawn to this one as the one before. It was almost dizzying - the feeling of…  _ Something _ washing over him, wrapping him up and holding on tight. He felt almost suffocated, and yet… Oddly appreciative.

In hopes for answers, he looked at the packaging for the golden Latin, for the instructions scrawled along the bottom corner, but there was nothing. He looked back at the crystal, then at the blank paper.

"...Alright. You may leave now."

Dark took the crystal, staring at it as he turned from the window. Aiko meowed at him, then left.

  
  


When Aiko returned home, Ayano was changing out her bandage. A meow caught her attention, and she turned to look at her feline familiar.

"Welcome home, Aiko! Did he like it?"

_ Mow _ .

"Hm… Okay, well… I guess that's… Fair." 

Ayano began applying an herbal salve to her wound, being sure to rub it in thoroughly. The wound in question was a little sigil pattern in the palm of her hand. The cut went deep, deep enough to leave a permanent scar. Of course, that was what she wanted. With the mix of the power of blood, (especially the blood of an admirer), and the energy coursing through herself at a constant, the power of the crystal would be undeniable and near unwavering, unless of course she died. She wanted to make sure the spell was as strong as it could be on her own, not wanting to risk her Senpai not following the directions left for him. This way, it just had to be around him - whether that was in his house or on his person.

"Oh, Aiko," Ayano sighed, wrapping fresh bandages around her hand, "I really hope this helps him…"

Dark's days had seemed to be going… Arguably smoother. He felt more sure of himself, more clear minded, and mishaps seemed to happen less often. He found himself feeling genuinely in control, like the people around him finally started to  _ really _ heed his words and stop making a  _ fucking  _ mess all the time.

Perhaps it was coincidence, or… Perhaps those crystals he kept in his pocket really  _ did  _ help.

Any decision he made felt supported so deeply within himself that nobody could bear to argue. It felt almost like there was something… Hovering around him. An energy that prompted order, obedience. He felt… Oddly proud of himself! Like there was a little cheerleader with him all the time!

…

That was silly… Perhaps he got a bit too excited… 

He righted himself in his chair, pulling the crystals from his pocket and rolling them in his hands. The three delicate stones clicked together, melodical but monotonous. His mind cleared, he calmed, and he let himself relax with a soft sigh.

Perhaps this…  _ Cat _ … Wasn't so bad - wasn't bad at all. Though, he had to admit… He was curious. Where the cat came from, who it belonged to… He didn't think he knew anyone that practiced  _ magic. _ Well… Besides that one Septic Ego, perhaps, but…  _ He _ had no reason to send him such remedies, did he?

Curious…

Perhaps he would ponder it more over a cup of coffee. 

Dark stood, cracking his neck and rolling his shoulders before heading down to the lobby. He needed to get up and walk a bit, anyway. He had been sitting for far too long.

While he stood in the lobby, stirring creamer into his coffee, his eye caught Yandereplier. She was standing with the fridge open, leaned over with her head buried inside. Her hand was wrapped in a bandage, though he supposed with her violent nature this was nothing to question.

When she closed the fridge, holding a fruit cup and a juice box, she turned to see Dark standing with his eyes on her. She jumped, scrambling to cover her hand and coincidentally dropping her snack.

"S-Senpai! Hi! How… How are you!" she stammered, quickly kneeling down to pick up her mistakes.

Dark simply watched her fumble for a moment, then returned to his drink. "I'm well, thank you. Yourself?"

"Oh-!" Yan hopped up, holding her fruity delicacies to her chest, hands buried beneath her arms, "wonderful! I mean, it's wonderful you're doing well! Or, I mean, that- that isn't to say I'm doing  _ poorly _ , either, though- Er-" 

She took a step backwards. She had always been like this - a little too chatty, a little too…  _ Nervous. _ Dark paid no real mind to it.

"I'm glad to hear it." He gave her a gentle smile before taking his cup in his hands. "Take care, Yan." With that, he left, leaving Ayano to scramble away herself.


End file.
